As recently as 2015, the battery industry had installed only a fraction of the gigawatts of battery capacity in the United States. That same year, the company set a seemingly audacious goal of increasing production capacity by 35 gigawatts by 2035. reached this goal a decade earlier this year, and a couple of months later reached 40 gigawatts.
Costs continue to fall, which may help maintain the pace of technology adoption. Electric vehicle and stationary battery prices have fallen again this year, reaching record lows, according to the company. BloombergNEF data. Prices for battery packs specifically used for networked storage fell even faster than average; they cost 45% less than last year.
We are also starting to see what happens in networks with large battery capacity: California And Texasbatteries are already helping to meet demand in the evenings, reducing the need to run gas installations. The result: a cleaner, more stable mesh.
An influx of AI funding in the energy sector
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The AI ​​boom is challenging for our energy system. as we described in detail this year. Demand for electricity is growing: the volume of electricity supplied to US data centers has jumped 22% this year to exceed will double by 2030.
But at least one positive shift is happening as a result of AI's impact on energy: it is driving renewed interest and investment in next-generation energy technologies.
In the near future, most of the energy needed for data centers, including those that power AI, will likely come from fossil fuels, especially new natural gas-fired power plants. But tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Meta have targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so they are looking for alternatives.
Meta signed the deal with XGS Energy will purchase up to 150 megawatts of electricity from a geothermal power plant in June. In October, Google signed an agreement that will help… reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowapreviously closed nuclear power plant.
Geothermal and nuclear energy could be key elements of the future energy grid because they can provide constant electricity in a way that wind and solar cannot. Many new versions of the technology have a long way to go, but more money and interest from big, powerful players won't hurt.
